The Bridgeville Area Historical Society’s October program meeting was an update of a memorable talk by raconteur Edd Hale, entitled “The Great Castle Shannon Bank Robbery”, presented originally in March, 2017. In addition to the pleasure of hearing the basic story repeated, this year’s version included several updates which dramatically change our perspective of the event.
The robbery occurred on May 14, 1917. In those days Castle Shannon was a busy little community; its principal industry was coal mining. A Russian immigrant named Mikhail Titov became aware of the Castle Shannon First National Bank, an institution that performed a vital function serving the miners and their employers. Titov proposed the idea of robbing it to three other Russian immigrants – Sam Barcons, John Tush, and Haraska Garason. When their landlady learned that they needed an automobile, she suggested they hire Nick Kemanos, an acquaintance of hers who had just purchased a new Maxwell. On the appointed day he picked up the four desperadoes. En route, the entourage stopped at a bar and imbibed enough alcohol to measurably impair them. They then drove into Castle Shannon and parked the car two blocks from the bank. Each armed with a 38 semi-automatic pistol, the gang piled out of the car, leaving Kemanos behind. When they entered the bank, they found one customer in it, a gentleman named Stanley Rawa, (who, coincidentally, spoke Russian), engaged with teller Frank Erbe.
The robbers announced the purpose of their mission and tied Rawa to a chair. Erbe found a pistol and began shooting at the intruders. They returned the fire and hit him five times, rendering him “hors de combat”; he died two days later, At this point Head Cashier Daniel McLean came out of the vault. A single shot killed him instantly. The robbers then emptied the vault and began their getaway. In the interim, all the citizens in the immediate vicinity responded to the gunfire in the bank by digging out their personal firearms. The justice of the peace, “Squire” George Beltzhoover, appropriated a shotgun and hurried to the bank, arriving there just as the robbers were leaving. When they ignored his command to stop, he pulled the trigger and was shocked to realize the weapon was unloaded.
The Squire threw down the gun and ran off. Barcons and Tush, confused regarding the location of the car was, set off on foot toward the Castle Shannon Golf Course, with a mob of armed civilians at their heels. Rather than be apprehended, they both decided to commit suicide. Tush was successful; Barcons missed his brain and only blew off part of his face. He was taken into custody by the posse. Meanwhile Titov and Garason high-tailed it back to the getaway car. Their pursuers appropriated Laughlin Funeral Home’s hearse, piled into it, and zoomed off in hot pursuit. They sped through Mt. Lebanon onto Greentree Road, where they spotted the Maxwell, chugging along. When they caught up with it, they found that Kemanos was its only occupant. He reported that his riders had gotten out three miles back; he was promptly arrested. About half of the $17,000 stolen from the bank was recovered with Barcons and Tush; the remainder and neither Titov nor Garason were never heard from again. Barcons was convicted of murder and died in the electric chair. Kemanos died of tuberculosis while in prison.
The information for this talk, originally researched by Mr. Hale and Post-Gazette feature writer Roger Stuart, was presented in a two-page article in the Post-Gazette Magazine Section on May 18, 1997. Ten years later Castle Shannon performed a re-enactment to celebrate the centennial of the event, and Edd Hale began to make presentations describing it. In the ensuing years he has told his story many times. On several occasions, members of his audience have come forward with new information. One lady reported that she was the granddaughter of Titov’s landlady and that her family was convinced Grandma was a full conspirator in the plot. Evidence of her complicity was the fact that, shortly after the robbery, she purchased a new automobile and a motorcycle, despite having difficulty “making ends meet” running her boarding house. Following another presentation, an audience member reported that his family had visited their old home village in Russia and mentioned the robbery. Someone in the village said he was aware of it and showed them the house Titov had lived in after returning to Russia. Even more convincing was the suggestion by someone that Hale get a copy of the book “Seeing Reds” by Charles McCormick. Sure enough, this book includes mention of a Russian named Parchmenko who was responsible for killing two Castle Shannon bank tellers as part of a Menshevik conspiracy to rob banks in the United States to help finance their revolution against the Czar.
What initially appeared to be a simple entertaining story about a group of inebriated, bumbling bank robbers and a zealous group of equally inept citizens, suitable as the plot for an Alec Guiness movie or a Three Stooges routine, now turns out to be a sinister international plot with a much larger cast. Were Stanley Rawa, Nick Kemanos, and Titov’s landlady Menshevik conspirators, rather than innocent bystanders? Where did Kemanos get the money to buy his Maxwell? Was it just a coincidence that the robbers chose the specific day when the bank was flush for cash to pay off the coal miners? We have moved from the genre of tragicomedy to one of conspiracy theory. Fortunately, Edd Hale was able to make this transition entirely credible and provide his audience with a very rewarding evening.
Next month’s Historical Society program is scheduled for 7:30 pm Tuesday, November 24, 2026, in the Chartiers Room of the Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Department. Duquesne University student (and, hopefully, future history teacher) Layla Asbury will discuss “Overlooked Threats: A History of Presidential Assassination Attempts”.